The ice rink in the park on Moravské náměstí has had another successful year, with over 20,000 visitors in almost three months. Ice skaters will have their last chance to visit the rink this weekend, before it is dismantled along with the neighbouring Ferris wheel.
The only public ice rink in Brno’s city center has been in operation since the end of November. Thanks to favorable weather conditions, it will end its season this year on Sunday, 1 March.
“The ice rink has already become an integral part of winter on Moravské náměstí,” said Vojtěch Mencl (ODS), mayor of the Brno-střed district. “There has been a consistently high interest in skating from visitors. In addition, the weather was kind in the third season, which allowed us to significantly save on energy costs, and we were able to operate even after the spring holidays. In total, over 26,000 visitors skated, which is almost the same as in the last record year.”
As usual, the rink saw most visitors in December, during the Christmas markets, but high visitor interest lasted into the New Year. Proceeds from ticket sales reached CZK 2.5 million, which was 4% higher than last year. The profits will cover all the costs of operation, assembly and disassembly.
“From an economic point of view, this is the best result so far,” said Mencl. “However, we operate the rink not for profit, but as a service to the public. This year, we again provided the ice rink for free to primary and kindergarten students from our city district for education. Children from children’s homes also used the ice rink for free.”
The dismantling of the ice rink will begin on Monday, and will last until the end of the week. Workers will gradually remove the equipment and technology to specialised warehouses. The rink, which was operated by the Kraví Hora Sports and Recreational Complex, will return in November.
The dismantling of the observation wheel will also begin simultaneously on Monday, in order to limit disruption for pedestrians in the park as much as possible. The city district leases the area to the private company Confolding Group to operate the wheel. For the Christmas market period from 14 November to 31 December, the city hall received rent totalling CZK 430,000, with further income due for January and February. During this period, the operator pays a fee of CZK 9,000 for each day of operation.
